By Terry Schrimscher, For the Tribune
IRONDALE – The Irondale City Council met at Irondale City Hall Tuesday night, Dec. 5, for the first regular session of the month. Mayor James D. Stewart Jr. presented two awards to start the meeting. Before stepping to the podium, he shared his gratitude to everyone who has supported his family after the recent loss of his mother.
Stewart shared a story about Irondale citizen Willie Poe, who recently passed away, before reading a proclamation celebrating his life.
“I would like to celebrate a fine Irondale resident. His name is Mr. Willie Poe. Willie died the first week of November and was buried on November the eighth,” Stewart began. “I would say he was the most truthful, straight-forward person I have ever known.
“He’s the only person that I’ve known that is truthful during election time because, you know, a lot of people will tell you they are going to vote for you but you really never know if they are going to vote for you,” Stewart added. “Well, Willie was straight with me and said, ‘I’m going to tell you straight up, I’m not going to vote for you.’ And we have been friends ever since.”
Stewart presented Poe’s widow with a proclamation honoring his life and service to the community. In the proclamation, Stewart noted Poe’s military service, his faith and his time spent serving the community driving the original Irondale train.
In other business, the city donated to two nonprofits. Stewart announced a $2,000 donation to ClasTran for providing transportation services to people in need. He also announced $2,500 to the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
After a brief Executive Session, the Council opened the floor for three public hearings. All three hearings involved possible abatement of residential properties. All three properties were approved for abatement with one, located at 2305 2nd Avenue North, motioned for consideration for demolition after future action by the Council.
Four other properties were declared a public nuisance in the consent agenda.
The Council also approved:
- The appointment of Shelly Ann Edge as trustee for the library board.
- A service agreement with Heidi’s Kids for $1,000 from Councilmember Sims’ discretionary funds to provide food and support for low-income children and families in the community.
- Authorization for ALDOT to replace signs on I-459 near the auto mall.
The city will host a ham giveaway at City Hall on Dec. 16. The giveaway will begin at 9 a.m. until all the hams are gone. The city will also host a blood drive at City Hall on Dec. 20.
The next meeting of the Irondale City Council will be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 19 at Irondale City Hall. An agenda for the meeting can be found on the Irondale website prior to the meeting.